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Oracle shareholders enhance Ellison's package

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Larry Ellison has not only survived a plan that could have put Oracle shareholders in charge of his annual compensation, he's in line for a bigger payout.

Oracle's chief executive stands to receive a total bonus of $13.62m in fiscal 2009, a 25 per cent increase over last year's maximum rewards package of $10.89m.

The increased bonus packaged was ratified by Oracle's shareholders attending their annual general meeting (AGM) last Friday. The package was put forward by Oracle's compensation committee in August, with the committee specifying nine Oracle executives in addition to Ellison who'd also get paid under its plan.

The 2009 rewards are based on "certain performance criteria" determined by the company's compensation committed. These include improvements in Oracle's pre-tax profit on a non-GAAP basis and "revenue-related goals linked to a particular area of responsibility."

Ellison is already one of the tech sector's best-remunerated chief executives and America's third-richest individual, thanks to steadily growing pay and stock allocations.

His fiscal 2008 cash and stock package weighed in at $83m, 372 per cent above what Ellison's peers in other chief executive positions receive, according to consultant Proxy Governance Inc.

The 2009 award followed the defeat of a proposal by shareholder Marianists Province of the United States to give fellow shareholders a "say on pay." This would have let shareholders set the packages Ellison and other senior Oracle executives would have received, bypassing Oracle's compensation committee. ®